Taylor Hargis posted the picture along with the note on Facebook Oct. 12, where it has been shared more than 4,000 times. The story and picture were also distributed on the Guardian of Valor website, which called the picture the "the salute seen around the world."

The letter from the commander, according to Taylor Hargis' Facebook post, read in part:

"Josh, whom everybody in the room (over 50 people) assumed to be unconscious, began to move his right arm under the blanket in a diligent effort to salute the Commander as is customary during these ceremonies. Despite his wounds, wrappings, tubes, and pain, Josh fought the doctor who was trying to restrain his right arm and rendered the most beautiful salute any person in that room had ever seen. I cannot impart on you the level of emotion that poured through the intensive care unit that day.

"Grown men began to weep and we were speechless at a gesture that speak volumes about Josh's courage and character. The picture, which we believe belongs on every news channel and every newspaper, is attached. I have it hanging above my desk now and will remember it as the single greatest event I have witnessed in my ten years in the Army."

Hargis, 24, is a 2007 graduate of of Dater High School on the city's west side and attended the University of Cincinnati, NBC affiliate WLWT in Cincinnati reported. He has since been moved from Afghanistan to Germany and onto San Antonio, Texas, the station said.

A reporter for another local station, WCPO, spoke to Hargis' mother Laura Heitman, who said that Taylor and Josh Hargis are expecting their first child. Heitman also said she had recently talked to her son.

Her son, she said, "sounded amazing when I talked to him. He was in good spirits."

Terri Wessel, who said she had taught Hargis in high school, told WCPO that the picture brought tears to her eyes.

"Seeing the picture of him saluting was the first I knew of him being injured," Wessel told the station."I teared up when I saw the picture but smiled at the same time as that picture summed up the type of man that Josh is. True American hero in my mind."

Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne, of Finland, stops a shot against the St. Louis Blues in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Pekka Rinne stopped 35 shots for his eighth shutout of the season and the Nashville Predators set a franchise record by earning a point in their 15th consecutive game with a 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.

Pekka Rinne stopped 35 shots for his eighth shutout of the season and the Nashville Predators set a franchise record by earning a point in their 15th consecutive game with a 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.

An Antioch man was arrested and charged by federal agents for making false statements in an attempt to purchase a firearm after he was flagged by two local police for erratic behavior and interest in ISIS and mass shootings.

An Antioch man was arrested and charged by federal agents for making false statements in an attempt to purchase a firearm after he was flagged by two local police for erratic behavior and interest in ISIS and mass shootings.